Process for converting fibrous material to be processed in the woolen system



Feb. 28, 1950* R. c. WILKIE 2,499,175 PROCESS FOR CONVERTING FIBROUS MATERIAL TO BE PROCESSED IN THEWOCLEN SYSTEM Original Filed Jan. 20, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l lNVENTOR.

Fe"). 28, 1950 R. c. WILKIE 2,499,175

PROCESS FOR CONVERTING FIBROUS MATERIAL TO BE PROCESSED IN THE WOOLEN SYSTEM Original Filed Jan. 20, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Patented Feb 28, 1950 PROCESS FOR CONVERTING FIBROUS MATERIAL TO BE PROCESSED IN THE WOOLEN SYSTEM Robert C. Wiikic, Andover, Mass assignor to Pacific Mills, of Massachusetts Lawrence, Mass a corporation l application January 20, 1944, Serial No. 518,973. Divided and this application February 7, 1946, Serial No. 846,030

8 Claims. (CI. 19-65) My invention relates to a process for converting fibrous material into condition to be processed in the woolen system, and its object is to prepare a stock of raw wool or other -flbrous material for such use more cheaply and expeditiously than heretofore.

The woolen system of processing utilizes in large part a much shorter fiber than that used in the worsted system. This short fiber of various random lengths is obtained from many diiferent sources such as, mainly, noil (the by-product of combing worsted fiber), short clipped grease or pulled wools, etc., short waste fibers of practically every type wool, mohair, rayon, cotton, etc), most generally produced as a waste or by-product in the production of the individual type, and reworked iibers termed shoddy (clothing or garments torn apart and broken down into the fiber state again). The conventional method oi preparing such raw stock consists in the use of scouring or degreaslng machines, shredders, garnet machines and pickers, etc., and, in general, if the fibers are too long they are torn and/or broken to the desired shorter lengths.

By my invention I produce a noil-like material for use in the woolen system of processing containing the desired short fibers without the necessity of the use of such machines, thereby saving much expense and time and producing a more desirable material for such processing than obtamed by the conventional methods.

According to my invention I may use, as my raw stock, grease wool fibers, any loose fibers in built form, any fibers in untwisted (or but slightly twisted) sliver form, or a mixture of the same, all

of which fibers in bulk form have a large proportion of fibers which are too long for use in the woolen system. I form this raw stoch into an approximately uniform mat on a carrier belt by means, preferably, of a. Bramwell feeder, from which the weight pan has been removed. The Bramwell feeder continuously delivers the stock sidewise, or at an angle, to the moving carrier belt, in the form of a thick mat. By thus delivering the stools angular-1y to the belt, the stock is laid substantially uniformly on the belt and in the desired thickness and quantity. In the case of such a feed the fibers lie in all directions in the mat on the belt.

Sliver from cans, balls, or any form of packaging, can be led onto the carrier belt by any suitable feeder instead of by the Bramwell feeder. In such case the fibers lie on the belt generally parallel to its direction of movement.

The belt 1 es the mat or fiber to a cutter 2 which cuts the mat into diamond shape pieces in which the fibers are oi all lengths from the longest, generally qual to the longitudinal length of the diamond, to the shortest. This product, in the length of its fibers, corresponds to a good noil, the by-product which is obtained by combing in the worsted system. When I refer to noil herein I mean a similar mixture of comparatively short fibers.

Thereafter the fibers, after being picked if desired, are earned and processed according to the woolen system to produce woolen yarn.

The advantages of my process are- 1. Fibers are made available for the woolen system which previously had been unusable in that system because they were too long and/or because of the cost of converting them.

2. Fibers of a. given length (i. e., all of one length or too long) and continuous filaments can be out into variable predetermined lengths from the longest to the shortest in the condition required for carding and processing in the woolen system.

3. Fibers, such as grease mohair, wool, etc., can

be processed in the woolen system without necessitating the conventional scouring operation, especially when used in blends with other fibers.

i. Waste stock of all types and fibers of any sort and in practically any form-grease wool fiber, mohair, picked stock, card sliver, top, rayon and other synthetic filaments and combinations or the foregoing eta-can be prepared for processing in the woolen system.

In order that my process may be more fully understood, I will describe a preferred form of apparatus for carrying it out.

The apparatus is shown in an accompanying drawing in which-- Fig. i is a perspective view;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the cutting rolls and Fig. 3 is a verticalcross-section taken on the line t-t of Fig. 2.

The Bramwell feeder, a device well known in the art, is indicated at G, Fig. i. It lays a mat of raw stock fiber material on the belt A in the required thickness and quantity. Or, it the material is in sliver form, it may be delivered directly onto the belt A by any suitable well hno feeding device.

The raw stock is carried by the belt A to a cutter which cuts the mat into diamond-shaped pieces.

The mat passes over a lower or anvil roll B having a hard cylindrical surface, such as steel. The stock is cut first by the cutting roll C which is mounted in hearings in the frame D, Figs. 3

terial, the periphery of which is substantially flush with the cutting surfaces of the helical threads.

After the stock has been cut by the roll C, it is out again by the secondroll F which is in all respects the same as roll C, except that its helical cutting threads are left-handed. The roll F is rotated in the same direction as roll 0. The angles of the threads on the two rolls are preferably the same in degree, but they may be different.

The rolls C and F are mounted on shafts so that their peripheries come close together, preferably about 0.01 of an inch apart, so-that the second roll F acts to doff any stock that may adhere to the first roll. The stock which may adhere to roll F may be doffed by jets of air directed tangentially against the surface of the roll.

The three rolls B, C and F are driven at the same peripheral speed. The shaft Bl of the roll B, Fig. 2, is mounted'in suitable hearings in the frame D and has fast on one end a sprocket which is driven by a sprocket chain from a motor (not shown). The shaft Bl has fast on its other end a gear B2, which meshes with a gear C2 on the shaft CI of roll C and with a gear-F2 on shaft Fl of roll F. The shaft Ci has also fast on it a gear Cl which meshes with a gear Al, Fig. 3, onthe shaft which drives the carrier belt A.

The stock is thus cut into diamond-shaped areas in which the fibers vary in length and in which there is the quantity of short lengths such as desired in the woolen system of processing. I The cut material, which I call noil, is collected in a box or can and, after being picked if desired, it is delivered to a wool card, a device well known in the art which requires no description. The product of the card is roping which is processed in' the well known woolen system to produce yarn.

This application is a division of my application,

Serial No. 518,973, filedJanuary 20, 1944, now

abondoned.

I'claim:

1. In the woolen system of processing to convert fiber stock into yarn, the process which comprises forming said stock into a mat and vert fiber stock into yarn,

cutting the mat of fibers into a multiplicity of diamond shaped pieces both crosswise and lengthwise of said mat.

. 2. In the woolen system of processing to conthe process which comprises forming said stock into a mat, feeding said mat to a cutter, and cutting the mat of fibers into a multiplicity of diamond-shaped pieces in which the fibers are of various lengths from a minimum to a length equal to the lengthwise diagonal of the diamond-shaped pieces.

" 3. In the woolen system of processing to convert fiber stock into yarn, the process which comprises forming said stock into a mat, repeatedly. cutting the mat of fibers diagonally in one direction and then cutting it diagonally transversely to, and across the cuts made in, the first direction to form diamond-shaped pieces both crosswise and lengthwise of said mat embodying fibers of lengths corresponding to the lengths of fibersin'a noil.

4. In the woolen system of processing, the step in the conversion of fiber stock into noil-like material which consists in cutting a mat of raw stock into diamond-shaped pieces both crosswise and lengthwise of said mat.

5. In the woolen system of processing, the step in the conversion of fiber stock into noil-liko material which consists in cutting a mat of raw stock into diamond-shaped pieces in which the fibers are of various lengths from a minimum to a length equal to the lengthwise diagonal of the diamond-shaped pieces both crosswise and lengthwise of said mat.

6. In the woolen system of processing, the step in the conversion of fiber stock into nail-like material which consists in repeatedly cutting a inat of-raw stock diagonally in one direction and then cutting it diagonally transversely to, and across the cuts made in, the first direction to form diamond -shaped pieces both crosswise and lengthwise of said mat.

ROBERT C. WILKIE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 813,583 Potter Feb. 2'1, 1906 1,694,032 Brecht et a1. Dec. 4, 1928 2,356,574 Franz Aug. 22, I944 FOREIGN PATENTS I Number Country Date I 490,460 Great Britain Aug. 11, 1938 

